As a leading supplier of high-quality steel components and systems for photovoltaic substructures, the voestalpine Group’s Metal Forming Division is benefiting from the current high demand in the solar industry. The dynamic market development is reflected in orders from around the world. The company is supplying one of Brazil’s largest solar projects with sophisticated steel sections, for example. Furthermore, voestalpine is continuously expanding its production of solar-generated green electricity throughout the Group.

The Management Board of the steel and technology Group regards the current historically low share price as an attractive opportunity to purchase its own shares. As voestalpine announced today, the company plans to buy back a maximum of ten million shares, or up to 5.6% of its share capital. The share buyback program will start on November 10, 2022 and is scheduled to end on July 10, 2023.

Impairment losses reduce EBIT of the second business quarter.

voestalpine is successfully expanding its position as technology and innovation leader and has budgeted around EUR 196 million for research and development (R&D) in the current business year. The steel and technology group appreciates that R&D projects positively contribute to sustainability. Research priorities include digitalizing the production processes, developing innovative products, and converting to climate-neutral steel production.

Today, high-performance materials and sophisticated special forgings from voestalpine are indispensable in the aircraft models of the world’s largest manufacturers. Only recently, the High Performance Metals Division of the voestalpine Group secured not only a contract extension, but also several new and extensive orders for the supply of heavy-duty structural parts from American airplane manufacturer Boeing. In addition, prestigious Munich-based company MTU Aero Engines has commissioned voestalpine to supply highly critical forged parts over the coming years, for installation in a variety of aircraft models including the Airbus A320neo. The total volume of orders to 2030 amounts to around three hundred million euros.

To be able to meet the growing demand for high-quality high-strength steels in the future, in the next few years voestalpine will be investing almost EUR 100 million in the expansion of the hot-dip galvanizing lines at the Linz site. The investment will make it possible to further increase the production quality of zinc-coated and uncoated cold-rolled strip products. Construction work will start in August with hot-dip galvanizing line 4; the technological ramp-up is scheduled for 2025/26. This will allow the site to significantly increase the volume of ultra-high-strength steels.

In addition to direct greenhouse gas emissions from production (Scope 1), the Group is now also setting itself ambitious goals to reduce Scope 2 emissions (energy-related) and Scope 3 emissions (raw materials, transport, etc.). These target reductions will be scientifically evaluated within the framework of the independent Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) to ensure their compatibility with the Paris goals, and, following detailed examination, validated correspondingly.

Based on this excellent first quarter and the current expectations for the remaining Business Year 2022/23, the Management Board of voestalpine AG expects an EBITDA in the amount of approximately EUR 2 billion for the entire Business Year 2022/23 (outlook to date: EBITDA between 1.8 billion and 2 billion EUR).

Despite the challenging environment, in the business year 2021/22 voestalpine AG recorded the best results in the company’s history. These record results are reflected in this year’s dividend: at the 30th Annual General Meeting, a dividend of EUR 1.20 per share was approved for the business year 2021/22. This represents an increase of 140% over the previous year (EUR 0.50). The Annual General Meeting, which once again was held at the Linz Design Center after a two-year pause due to the pandemic, accepted the proposal of the Management Board and Supervisory Board. The dividend shall be paid out starting on July 18, 2022 (ex-dividend date is July 14, 2022).

voestalpine Railway Systems, global market leader for complete railway infrastructure systems, and Egyptian National Railways (ENR) are planning a joint venture for the joint production of high-performance turnouts at ENR’s existing turnout plant in Cairo. The agreement was signed on July 3, 2022. Egypt is considered the most dynamic rail market on the African continent.

Around four years after the official groundbreaking ceremony in 2018, construction of the new special steel plant at the voestalpine site in Kapfenberg is now complete. The plant will gradually start operating this summer, with intermittent parallel operations using the existing electric steel mill beginning in the fall. The state-of-the-art facility, which will produce 205,000 tons of special steel for the international aerospace, oil & natural gas, automotive and toolmaking industries annually, represents a technological milestone in terms of digitalization and sustainability for the High Performance Metals Division of the voestalpine Group. 

voestalpine in Austria is not affected by the current throttling of gas supplies from Russia via the Nord Stream 1 pipeline in the Baltic Sea. The Austrian production sites are currently receiving most of their required gas volumes via the Transgas pipeline running through Slovakia. The Group is also thoroughly prepared should there be a further reduction or complete stop in gas supplies from Russia. Contracts for alternative supply volumes have already been signed, with voestalpine starting to fill its own gas storage facilities in May.

Demand is growing for high-quality, CO₂-reduced steel from voestalpine, and now the first greentec steel Edition coils have left the plant in Linz. Starting at the end of the last calendar year, the steel and technology group now offers all Steel Division flat steel products with a reduced carbon footprint. Examples include electrical steel which is used in wind turbines, and high-tensile steels for lightweight automotive construction.

voestalpine is striving to produce carbon neutral steel by 2050, in accordance with the European climate goals. The global Group is already working hard to develop highly innovative technologies and production processes with “greentec steel”, its ambitious phased plan. As part of the “sustainable steelmaking” (SuSteel) research project, the company will investigate the use of hydrogen plasma in a carbon neutral steel production process, in a new pilot facility at the voestalpine site in Donawitz. voestalpine is currently the world’s only steel manufacturer conducting research into the use of hydrogen plasma in steelmaking.

voestalpine has been exploring strategic options for its direct reduction plant in Texas, USA, for the past year, and is now selling 80 percent of its shares ArcelorMittal. The enterprise value for 100% of the shares in voestalpine Texas is approximately EUR 900 million (USD one billion). Taking into account the expected debt development of voestalpine Texas as of today, the transaction will lead to a cash inflow in the amount of the equity value for 80% of the shares in voestalpine Texas of approximately EUR 610 million (approximately USD 680 million) at closing and thus to a significant reduction of the net financial debt of the voestalpine Group. This partnership also secures a long-term agreement for the Group to annually supply 420,000 tons of the hot briquetted iron (HBI) produced at the plant. This provides the basis for further decarbonization of steel production at Linz and Donawitz (greentec steel). In addition, the partnership reduces the high spot market risk for the quantities not required. The HBI plant has an annual production capacity of around two million tons.

In its meeting today, the Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG took the first important decision on its path from the coal-based blast furnace route to steel production using electric arc furnaces powered by green electricity: in summer 2022 the Group will start clearing the necessary construction areas and converting infrastructure at its two sites in Linz and Donawitz. The estimated investment costs during this first phase fall in the low triple-digit million-euro range.

The Supervisory Board of voestalpine AG today elected Wolfgang Eder as their new Chairman, to take effect on April 1, 2022, the start of the new business year. Eder succeeds Joachim Lemppenau who steps down after 18 years as Chairman of the supervisory body. Lemppenau will continue to serve the Group as a member of the Supervisory Board until his current term of office officially ends at the 2024 Annual General Meeting.

The voestalpine Steel Division produces high and ultra-high-strength steels at its site in Linz that are used, for instance, in the premium automotive segment where they are required to meet stringent quality standards. Since February, the comprehensive testing and approvals process for cold strip products has been taking place in a newly constructed, state-of-the-art testing center which establishes voestalpine as a global steel industry pioneer when it comes to digitalization, automation, and cutting-edge workflows. This has required an investment of EUR 23 million.

Any materials deployed where snow, ice, and low temperatures dominate must meet stringent quality standards, especially when used in winter sports equipment. Global steel and technology Group voestalpine supplies high-quality materials for the manufacture of ski edges, blades for ice skates, and luge components. Consequently, premium steel from voestalpine will be helping athletes achieve top performances at the 2022 Olympic Winter Games in Beijing.

voestalpine has been regarded as an environmental and efficiency benchmark for many years. By installing photovoltaic systems covering a total area of around 310,000 m2 and generating an output of almost 61 MWp (megawatt peak) at its company sites, when it comes to power output and surface area, the international Group is setting new standards for sustainable in-house energy supplies. As a comparison, the systems generate sufficient green electricity to drive a convoy of 10,000 electric vehicles around the world once a year.

voestalpine has been engaged in pioneering 3D printing with metals for many years. These metals are already being used at its own 3D printing and research centers around the world. Now the steel and technology Group has started operating Europe’s most advanced 3D sand printer for heavy steel castings at its site in Traisen, Lower Austria. The new additive manufacturing technology for the production of sophisticated castings using silica sand reduces production times and is more environmentally friendly than the previous process.